A former financial administration clerk at Lentegeur High School has been charged with stealing R503 445.61 from the school.
On Wednesday March 27, Rochellin Adriana Baartman appeared in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, theft, forgery and uttering after the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team issued a warrant for her arrest.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, spokesperson for the Western Cape South African Police Service, Ms Baartman was employed as a financial administration clerk at Lentegeur High School between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020.
During this time, she was responsible for compiling the requisition documents and capturing payments into the online banking system.
Lieutenant Colonel Vukubi said she allegedly completed 66 transactions of which payments were made to her personal bank accounts.
“Investigations revealed that the supplier's invoices were amended to reflect the details of Ms Baartman. Payslips for the period of November 2020 to February 2021 were fraudulently created which indicated that she received a salary from both the Western Cape Department of Education and the School Governing Body,” he said.
She used five different methods to process payments. “As a result, the school suffered a loss of R503 445.61.”
Ms Baartman was granted R20 000 bail and her next court date is set for Monday May 13 for further investigation.
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Millicent Merton confirmed Ms Baartman was charged with fraud, forgery and stealing R503 445.61.
“The WCED is committed to maintaining zero-tolerance towards fraud in order to protect our schools’ assets and resources. The WCED took disciplinary action against the accused and she was dismissed. Schools must exercise proper control over revenue and expenditure, as set out in the Manual: Basic Financial System for Schools.”